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      • Archaeological methodology & techniques
        March 2016

        Saving The Tsars' Palaces

        by Christopher Morgan & Irina Orlova

        Millions of people annually visit the great country palaces built by the tsars in a circle round St. Petersburg. Created by artists from all over Europe, with untold serf labour at their disposal, the palaces were intended to impress and they do. Today, in the corner of most rooms, a single black and white photograph shows the same room in 1944, amid the smouldering wreckage found by Russian soldiers returning after the three-year siege of Leningrad. Forced to abandon the palaces, the Nazis vented their anger on the treasures they occupied.The story behind these photographs is in many ways more impressive even than the rooms themselves. It is the story of a relatively small band of talented Russians who were determined not to allow their country’s heritage to be swept away by all the horrors of the twentieth century. The palaces today are truly the work of Russians but restorers have to be self-effacing. There have been books about what they did but not about them. In Saving The Tsars’ Palaces, Christopher Morgan and Irina Orlova vividly recount the remarkable story of those who battled to save the palaces, not just during and after the war, but during the Revolution and the harsh times that followed.

      • Archaeology

        Designing Experimental Research in Archaeology

        Examining Technology Through Production & Use

        by Jefferey R Ferguson

        This is a guide for the design of archaeological experiments for both students and scholars. Experimental archaeology provides a unique opportunity to corroborate conclusions with multiple trials of repeatable experiments and can provide data otherwise unavailable to archaeologists without damaging sites, remains, or artefacts. Each chapter addresses a particular classification of material culture -- ceramics, stone tools, perishable materials, composite hunting technology, butchering practices and bone tools, and experimental zoo archaeology -- detailing issues that must be considered in the development of experimental archaeology projects and discussing potential pitfalls. The experiments follow coherent and consistent research designs and procedures and are placed in a theoretical context, and contributors outline methods that will serve as a guide in future experiments. This degree of standardisation is uncommon in traditional archaeological research but is essential to experimental archaeology. The field has long been in need of a guide that focuses on methodology and design. This book fills that need not only for undergraduate and graduate students but for any archaeologist looking to begin an experimental research project.

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